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Edexcel Unit 2: Geographical Investigations

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yeah a minute a mark is what i am doing
Reply 21
I took the unit 2 exam in January and failed (badly) due to not finishing the last question and being too general. So am writing this to help those who are taking it for the first time and also for people like me who's resitting it and have forgotten everything...

Time management is KEY!!! to do well in this exam is helps to be able to write fast (but still legible), especially as when we did it there was 3 marks between the grade boundaries so by missing out the last 15marker i went down 5 grade's :frown:

Also put in examples wherever you can and always add data to everything, even if its made up (so long as its believable).

Be specific, if you say things like "some people" you wont get the marks but if you specifically mention groups, Transport for London, Specific Borough Councils etc, then you'll get the marks

Being succinct and concise means you hopefully dont end up repeating things or waffling on for two long...needing extra paper for this exams is NOT a good thing (unless you have massive handwriting/make a mistake)

Put in a wide range of research techniques (even if you didnt do them) as examiners liked that.

Be aware that you might have to answer questions post-fieldwork as well about things like data analysis.

Finally key words are essential to higher level answers, these can be found of the spec: http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/UA024843%20GCE%20Geography%20Issue%203%20210510.pdf

Good luck!! :biggrin:
Reply 22
there is only so much they can ask you on the fieldwork section, so just do all the past papers and you'll have covered what can come up but the wording will just be different :smile:
Reply 23
the exam is one hour
Original post by rachelhop
the exam is one hour


its 1 hour 15! lol honestly it is 1hour 15...do people not realise this?
Reply 25
it is 1 hour 15, i did the exam in january and it is DEFINITELY that long, its only recently they added the extra 15 mins tho...and its still hard to finish
Reply 26
Doing Crowded Coasts and Rebranding, the paper is relatively easy as they ask similar things each year but the wording of questions always confuse me and i panic :angry:
Original post by Jakelol
Doing Crowded Coasts and Rebranding, the paper is relatively easy as they ask similar things each year but the wording of questions always confuse me and i panic :angry:


My advice would be to read the question a few times and underline the key points that you should discuss, then you can make sure you don't talk about the wrong thing. Generally you can apply most of the fieldwork and research techniques to any question and you just need to talk about relevant topics with supporting examples for the 'casestudy' question.
What is everyone else's opinion on creating an introduction where you define key terms or something for questions in this exam? I was told that an introduction was pointless because you don't get any marks for it. Just wondering about other people's opinions.
Are introductions and conclusions completely necessary? I've been looking at the examiner's reports and top level answers often don't seem to have them. Just wondering what everyone else has been told regards exam technique..
Original post by Lorem Ipsum
Are introductions and conclusions completely necessary? I've been looking at the examiner's reports and top level answers often don't seem to have them. Just wondering what everyone else has been told regards exam technique..


We are already really limited by time so I'm guessing we shouldn't do intros then? i just dont want to not do one and then realise that they actually wanted you to define the key terms and lose out on a load of marks.
Reply 31
Original post by GottaRevise
Hey I am doing the same, our teacher is amazing and has taught us everything e possibly need to know. I would just say to read over the Unit guide if you have it. Also know your case studies for your fieldwork and research and have a balanced amount of primary and secondary data.

For extreme weather I think this is what is really important:
Pressure systems--> leading to formation of hurricanes/ droughts
Formation of anticyclones
How flooding occurs, increased risk of flooding, reducing flooding
You should have your own research into the investigation of weather (for e.g. we had to keep a weather diary)
Research on an area prone to flooding/ other extreme weather events (we did our on Henley)
Knowledge on GIS

For Rebranding:

What is rebranding, reimaging?
Social, economic and environmental impacts
Causes to rebrand
Secondary (national statistics, newspapers, local guides) and Primary data (land-use maps, interviews, transects) on an area which you have researched for rebranding .

If you read over all the notes and info that you have on the above I am sure you will feel more confident about your exam.


Thank you!!

What questions do you have?

Has your teacher made any predictions on what may come up?!
Original post by GottaRevise
If you want I can send you a couple of answers to some of the questions I have done on these topics which I have got full marks on in practise, I didn't mark them my geog teacher did and you can just use them as guide.


Thankyou :smile: That would be really good, if you don't mind? do you just send them through tsr?
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 33
How is everyone coping for time.. if I stick to the 1 mark = 1 minute idea then I write a load of rubbish and its awful, yet if I write to what I feel confident with then I dont have enough time to finish the second question D:

Also, I get really bad hand cramps for this exam! Its going to be absolutely hideous :'(

How are you lot preparing for the hand pain lol ?
My pinky bruises hardcore...
Hopefully if they see any blood they boost our grades up *fingers crossed* loll, i think i might get some kindof protection actually...like wrap my pinky up in tissue?

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my Desire HD
Original post by GottaRevise
Don't think of it as an essay, its not really its just making points that you have revised and noting them down into a line or couple of lines each for each point. Make sure you have paragraphs and try and make them flow.:smile:


Geography is my only Humanities subject... so I kinda count it as an essay but I see your point :tongue:

So are you guys going to write intros and conclusions? I tend to spend a lot of time thinking of a good intro, so maybe if I cut it out I'll manage my time better. But my teacher says it's best to briefly define the word(s) in bold to show the examiner you know what you're talking about :s So confused about what to do!
Original post by ReviseAlex
You've really got to be careful with your time in this exam, spending 10mins on the 10markers and 15 mins on the 15 markers should be ok but its still really tight with time.

In my opinion the worst part of this exam is the lack of time we get to complete it!

Don't think of the questions as essays otherwise you will end up spending too much time on them.

4 fieldwork techniques and 4 research techniques for the 15 marker is what i've been told to do.

That seems about right :smile: But what do you actually do with your points? Do you briefly describe how to carry out the technique and what its for? How much would you recommend writing for each technique?
Reply 37
We've been told for the techniques you use for primary/secondary:
a) say what it is
b) how carried out
c) one sentence saying "This allowed us to"

So.. say it, show it, justify it... MOVE ON!
Reply 38
About the 15-markers:
if they ask you to say your results, how you'd present your results (e.g. bar charts, powerpoint, annotations) and/or evaluate your results (e.g. modifications you'd make, what this means overall for what you were investigating) - you still need to say the fieldwork and research you did

I reckon we're going to get evaluative and presentation 15-markers this year because they've done all the questions they can about 'design a programme of fieldwork and research' :frown:
Original post by Grafton
About the 15-markers:
if they ask you to say your results, how you'd present your results (e.g. bar charts, powerpoint, annotations) and/or evaluate your results (e.g. modifications you'd make, what this means overall for what you were investigating) - you still need to say the fieldwork and research you did

I reckon we're going to get evaluative and presentation 15-markers this year because they've done all the questions they can about 'design a programme of fieldwork and research' :frown:


Hi yh now that you think about it, the other questions have come up loads.

I think that for extreme weather, they are probably going to come up with something to do with changing weather conditions as that has only come up once too.

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